Redemption! (Ephesians 1:7-10)

Ephesians 1:7-10

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

• Sin enslaves human beings through distrust of God, false promises of pleasure, guilt, concealment, and repeated bondage.
• Redemption is not a payment to Satan; Christ buys his people out of slavery to sin, guilt, and debt.
• Believers possess redemption now through Christ's precious blood, so accusation and a condemning conscience must be answered with God's promise.
• God does not provide a small reserve of grace and then require believers to maintain their standing by works; Christ pays the full price and makes them heirs.
• The plan once disclosed in promises and shadows reaches its fullness in Christ's life, death, and reign.
• God's purpose is larger than individual escape: he is gathering all things under Christ and will finally make heaven and earth new.

• Which sin has promised pleasure but instead produced guilt, concealment, and bondage in my life?
• Do I wrongly imagine redemption as a payment to Satan rather than Christ's satisfaction of God's justice against my sin?
• When conscience or accusation condemns me, do I cling to the present promise that redemption is mine in Christ?
• Am I trying to maintain God's acceptance by my performance after beginning by grace?
• What does the immeasurable value of Christ's blood say about the sufficiency and security of redemption?
• Have I reduced the gospel to my private escape, or do I long for all things to be gathered and renewed under Christ?
• How can I serve as an instrument of Christ's reconciling and renewing work in my family or community?

Redemption

Christ's purchase of his people out of slavery to sin and guilt by the price of his own blood.

Bondage to sin

The fallen condition in which sinful desires promise freedom but master, accuse, and corrupt the sinner.

Precious blood

The infinitely valuable sacrificial death of God the Son incarnate, sufficient to pay his people's debt.

Mystery of God's will

God's eternal redemptive purpose, progressively revealed in Scripture and openly displayed in Jesus Christ.

Fullness of the times

The divinely ordered point at which Christ fulfills God's promises and begins the final gathering of all things under his rule.